Miss Luo?

Luo Sheng’s quick-witted mind immediately realized that the man before her wasn’t recognizing her from that night, but rather knew Miss Luo.

She swiftly glanced at Hong Dou from the corner of her eye, only to find that the usually sharp-tongued and fierce little maid now wore a dazed expression—clearly she couldn’t be counted on.

The man gave Luo Sheng an extremely dangerous feeling. Under the gaze of those deep black eyes, she didn’t dare let her guard down and said impassively, “Well enough.”

Given Miss Luo’s habit of pursuing handsome men, her relationship with this man was probably not particularly harmonious—at least she detected no hint of intimacy in his words.

Miss Luo was the daughter of the Grand Commander-in-Chief, a person of noble status. Responding to this man with such an attitude shouldn’t cause any problems.

Luo Sheng’s greatest strength was her ability to remain composed. To put it bluntly, she could tell bald-faced lies without batting an eye. Yet the probing look that appeared in his eyes after hearing her response still made her heartbeat quicken a few times.

She had only spoken two words—what could possibly make him feel something was off?

The man’s eyebrows moved slightly.

His complexion was somewhat pale, which made his eyebrows appear all the more like they were painted in ink.

“It seems Miss Luo no longer recognizes me.”

Luo Sheng lifted her chin slightly and said in an impatient tone, “I’ve met too many people. I forget them afterward. My apologies.”

“I see—” The man looked deeply at Luo Sheng, then stood up. “Then I’ve disturbed you.”

Luo Sheng watched as the man left with his attendants, and only then did her tense body relax.

She wasn’t afraid that the departing man had some entanglement with Miss Luo, only that he would recognize her as the person from that night.

Perhaps because the invisible pressure suddenly lifted with the man’s departure, Sheng Sanlang finally came to his senses. “Cousin, you two know each other?”

“We don’t.”

Sheng Sanlang blinked.

That didn’t make sense. That man’s bearing was in no way inferior to Su Yao’s, and he had taken the initiative to come over and greet her. There was no reason his cousin wouldn’t know him.

At this moment, Hong Dou finally snapped out of her daze and tugged at Luo Sheng’s sleeve. “Miss, do you really not recognize him? That’s Prince Kaiyang!”

Prince Kaiyang?

Luo Sheng’s expression changed slightly.

She had already learned from Hong Dou that the reason Miss Luo had been sent to her maternal grandfather’s home to avoid trouble was because she had offended Prince Kaiyang.

Apparently, Miss Luo’s old habit had flared up—she had coveted Prince Kaiyang’s beauty on the street, which had enraged the prince.

Prince Kaiyang was the current emperor’s younger brother. Though he had only just reached the age of twenty, he was deeply favored by His Majesty. Even the Crown Prince, who was several years his senior, had to respectfully address him as “Royal Uncle.”

When such a person flew into a rage, Grand Commander Luo naturally couldn’t remain unmoved and had to send his daughter out of the capital as a gesture of apology.

Luo Sheng had considered that someone of such high position and power probably wouldn’t keep pursuing a young lady. If she kept a low profile upon returning to the capital, there shouldn’t be any problems.

It was just her rotten luck to encounter him on the road.

Sighing inwardly at her luck, Luo Sheng’s expression returned to calm. “No matter. Since he left, it means he doesn’t hold my past offenses against me. After we finish our tea, we’ll continue on our way.”

After being verbally teased a few times by a young lady, his temper had been vented and punishment had been meted out—what more could he want?

He couldn’t very well expect the young lady to marry him or force her to become a nun.

“Miss, you might be too optimistic. This servant feels Prince Kaiyang is still angry.”

“Hm?” Luo Sheng frowned, beginning to think the departed man was rather petty.

His appearance was passable, but unfortunately his heart was far too narrow.

Hong Dou lowered her voice somewhat. “Back then on the street, you actually pulled off Prince Kaiyang’s belt—”

“Pfft—” Sheng Sanlang spat a mouthful of cold tea all over the table.

Even Xiu Yue, who had been quietly drinking tea the whole time, nearly knocked over her teacup.

She looked deeply at Luo Sheng, hesitation in her eyes: Had her decision to follow this young lady been a bit too hasty?

“Cousin, did you, did you really pull off Prince Kaiyang’s belt in broad daylight in front of everyone?” Sheng Sanlang, having recovered, didn’t bother wiping the tea splattered on his clothes and asked with a face full of shock.

Luo Sheng remained silent.

She had been careless.

She had none of Miss Luo’s memories and needed to gather too much information. When Hong Dou mentioned that it was because of coveting Prince Kaiyang’s beauty that she had been sent to her maternal grandfather’s home to avoid trouble, she hadn’t pressed for details and had instead moved on to ask about other matters.

After all, in her view, there was no need to inquire about the specific process of how one flirted with a man.

Luo Sheng stood up. “Cousin, please sit for a moment. I have something to say to Hong Dou.”

“Uh.” Sheng Sanlang dazedly gulped down a mouthful of cold tea.

Luo Sheng stopped under a tree by the roadside and lowered her voice. “Did I previously… enjoy pulling off men’s belts?”

She had thought that even if Miss Luo flirted with men, she would have at least some basic sense of propriety.

“Not at all. You’ve only ever pulled off Prince Kaiyang’s belt.”

Luo Sheng thought about Prince Kaiyang’s appearance and asked with a frown, “Because he was the most handsome?”

Hong Dou continued shaking her head. “Not exactly. Actually, at the time, your hand just slipped by accident…”

Luo Sheng relaxed slightly.

Good. The mess Miss Luo had left her wasn’t as terrible as she’d imagined.

But very soon, her relaxed nerves tensed up again.

The situation was somewhat dire!

Since Miss Luo didn’t have a hobby of pulling off the belts of handsome men she encountered, as the only man whose belt she had pulled off, there was no reason she wouldn’t remember him.

Not to mention that the lesson of being sent out of the capital would be enough for any young lady to remember for a lifetime.

In other words, he had indeed become suspicious.

Luo Sheng recalled those ink-dark eyes that had suddenly opened that night, and a shadow of gloom crept over her heart.

Why had Prince Kaiyang appeared at the prince’s manor?

Luo Sheng walked back to the tea stall. Before she could speak, Sheng Sanlang jumped up with a start. “Cousin, what is it?”

Luo Sheng lowered her brows. “Cousin seems rather nervous.”

“No, not nervous, how could I be nervous, not nervous at all…”

Pretending not to see Sheng Sanlang’s trembling calves, Luo Sheng turned and walked toward the blue-curtained carriage stopped by the roadside. “If Cousin has had enough tea, let’s continue on our way.”

The group set off again. Passersby gradually became sparse, until later there were only rolling green mountains and lush trees to be seen.

Luo Sheng lifted the carriage curtain, silently observing the scenery along the way.

“Cousin, why don’t we stop here, eat some dry rations, and then continue?”

Long-distance travel was ultimately a hardship. Whether one had money or not, situations where one couldn’t reach a post station or town and had to spend the night in the wilderness were not uncommon.

Luo Sheng nodded slightly. She had just gotten down from the carriage and barely steadied herself when a black shadow suddenly charged at them.

Sheng Sanlang drew the sword from his waist and rushed forward, shouting loudly, “There are villains!”

Seven or eight guards raised their blades and swarmed forward. After a bout of wild hacking, they scattered, revealing a wild boar lying pitifully on the ground, having taken at least dozens of blade strikes.

Holding his sword, Sheng Sanlang felt somewhat embarrassed meeting his cousin’s calm gaze. “I thought it was villains. I didn’t expect it to be a wild boar.”

At this, the young man felt his earlier cry had been rather undignified and quickly added, “Actually, a wild boar this large going on a rampage is even more dangerous than several villains.”

Luo Sheng nodded. “Cousin is quite right. Then… let’s make beggar’s pork elbow later.”

Sheng Sanlang: ??